Sorry if this is the wrong section (please feel free to move). I searched the board and couldn't find an answer to this:

During TTITD, when does the sun typically set? I'm asking out of general curiosity, but also so I can know what time I have to be there by in order to be able to set up MH/tent etc while there is still light remaining.

It's been a few years since I've cared. That information is already readily available, a little radical self reliance can go a long way. Find a site (weather sites often have that info) or an app that will calculate sunrise/sunset for you, then all you need to do is enter the ZIP code for Gerlach (also readily available) and the date you want. Easy peasy

Earthwalker wrote:...so I can know what time I have to be there by in order to be able to set up MH/tent etc while there is still light remaining.

Actually, shooting for a specific camp-site arrival-time is pretty much a fool's game. All it takes is one crash or stalled motor-home on the narrow and shoulderless highway to delay traffic for hours. Then you get to the gate and the line there can take several hours.

And for a first-timer it will be difficult to find your way in the dark. So I suggest you plan on arriving fairly early in the day.

Earthwalker wrote:...so I can know what time I have to be there by in order to be able to set up MH/tent etc while there is still light remaining.

Actually, shooting for a specific camp-site arrival-time is pretty much a fool's game. All it takes is one crash or stalled motor-home on the narrow and shoulderless highway to delay traffic for hours. Then you get to the gate and the line there can take several hours.

And for a first-timer it will be difficult to find your way in the dark. So I suggest you plan on arriving fairly early in the day.

Finding our camp site the first night in 2011 & setting up (a modest camp) in the dark was quite a lot of fun . Plus, by the time we finished, the sun was rising and it was time to wake up! There's something to be said for starting your first burn already minus one night's sleep!

"just two indecisive cowboys, trying to play a word game." - piehole"Just apply intelligence and discretion and you should be able to get away with just about anything." - Ugly Dougly

It's light enough to see at maybe . . . 5:15am, the sun comes up at about 6:15am almost on the nose. The sun sets somewhere between 7:30pm - 8:00pm, to my memory. Fully dark by 9:00.

I've set up a tent in the dark numerous times, using a lantern or a big flashlight. (Some folks use headlights to get a few things done.) It doesn't seem like a weird thing to do anymore. I suppose it might present a challenge if one has never set up a particular tent before. Test runs rule!

Some folks drive to approximately where they want to be, and snooze a bit in their cars. Layout around you may change while you're sleeping, but if you're tired or unsure, it's probably worth it.

*** 2017 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

I arrived just at sunset on Sunday this year. I really liked that it was nice and cool while I put up my monkey hut. Like Savannah said I had a big lantern and a head lamp and seeing the man glowing in the distance really helped motivate me

Can self reliance not include asking others who are more in the know? Should I greet those who ask me advice on financial or other life matters with "sorry, you must learn that for yourself. I paid good hard money for this knowledge and I'm not giving it away freely!"

I've noticed on this board that, in many instances (not all, some people really do ask dumb questions), citing that principle is just an excuse for someone to be a jackass or ride their high horse (or unicorn)

So thank you, savannah, and figjam on the bucket cooler thread, for your kindness and consideration in just answering the (excuse me while I curse) damn question

PS....that wasn't directed towards anyone with smart ass answers. I love sarcasm, smart assery, and general ball busting. I just dint like the serious "you must not ask that here, you aren't self reliant enough" response. No crap I know how to use google. I mean, I did find this board, eh?

Well . . . .Trilo was right when he said there are ways to find out this information without asking. Maybe you didn't know that you can look up on the internet the time that the sun will set in a certain location on a certain date . . . but you can (I have).

People can be a little terse with those who ask the easiest questions because 1) we're not customer service or the hired help, we're Burners fucking around and missing each other, & 2) we can envision camping next to a person who is ill-prepared or not ready to fend for themselves. Someone whose camp is not well tied-down is probably worst and most dangerous to other people, but there are other kinds of poor neighbors. We've met them. You won't want to.

Anyway--if you keep your eyes open, you will see new folks praised for asking hard, unusual, fun questions--or prefacing their requests by saying that they have looked Specific Place A and Specific Place B (especially when you can tell it's true) and just been unlucky. Many of us have been here for years, and can totally tell when someone has tried. Stick around, read the Survival Guide a second time and you'll start to spot the people who haven't tried so hard.

People who try, and the people with good attitudes are the virgins no one minds camping next to. And some virgins you can't easily identify at all--we call them Stealth Virgins, and they're amazing. But we've all run across folks who made our Burns harder because they weren't self-reliant. Not to excuse someone being outright mean on ePlaya, because that does happen (this is the internet, not the glorious playa) . . . but the pleasure towards respectful folks who try does not spring fully formed from some sort of void.

The reason you're not receiving the responses you want is that the question asked falls under the "stupid questions" category.

Before you get offended by that, bear with me a second here...

A "stupid question" is one that shouldn't be asked because it isn't worth the time to answer -- and by answering it encourages more such questions. Questions are a waste of time if the answer is easily researched, or if question falls below the intellect level of the environment (e.g. asking a basic question of a high level professor at a conference). It can also mean the person doesn't know the right question to ask because of a lack of background research.

In your case there are two problems: 1) it's easy to look up sunset times in the northern hemisphere for that time of year, and 2) had you looked that up, the real question you should have been asking is how long should I expect to wait in line to arrive at a particular time?

Simply asking the time the sun sets is a pointless question. You'll receive much better responses to your questions if you do the legwork to craft a workable question. Otherwise, people aren't going to feel all that bad slewing snark at someone who isn't fulfilling his part of the bargain between questioner and answerer.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

Savannah wrote:It's light enough to see at maybe . . . 5:15am, the sun comes up at about 6:15am almost on the nose. The sun sets somewhere between 7:30pm - 8:00pm, to my memory. Fully dark by 9:00.

I've set up a tent in the dark numerous times, using a lantern or a big flashlight. (Some folks use headlights to get a few things done.) It doesn't seem like a weird thing to do anymore. I suppose it might present a challenge if one has never set up a particular tent before. Test runs rule!

Some folks drive to approximately where they want to be, and snooze a bit in their cars. Layout around you may change while you're sleeping, but if you're tired or unsure, it's probably worth it.

ok, maybe not down to the minute, but dear Savannah got it pretty dang close.

ETA: you been doing yoga? nice move..........I bet you never leave the house now.